1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display apparatus and method for an automotive vehicle which display road map information and various kinds of vehicular information on an image screen of a display thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each of three Japanese Patent Application First Publications No. Heisei 11-184446 published on Jul. 9, 1999 (hereinafter, referred to as a first Japanese Patent Application Publication), No. Heisei 9-210704 published on Aug. 15, 1997 (hereinafter, referred to as a second Japanese Patent Application Publication), and No. Heisei 10-116052 published on May 6, 1998 (hereinafter, referred to as a third Japanese Patent Application Publication) exemplifies a previously proposed vehicular display apparatus.
In a first previously proposed vehicular display apparatus disclosed in the first Japanese Patent Application Publication, a brightness level of the whole image screen is adjusted in accordance with a present time and a vehicular running position (of place). The brightness level of the display image apparatus is modified on the basis of such a vehicular running environment information as a vehicular run under a sunshine area or a vehicular run in a tunnel.
In a second previously proposed vehicular display apparatus disclosed in the second Japanese Patent Application Publication, when a particular traffic information is obtained, the brightness of the displayed image screen is controlled in accordance with an illumination state of the vehicle. The vehicular driver can accurately recognize a necessary information from the displayed image screen without mistake.
In a third previously proposed vehicular display apparatus disclosed in the third Japanese Patent Application Publication, after a field of view environment image of an observer is generated and a point of fixation on its image is specified, an adaptability of a sense of vision of the observer is calculated. Furthermore, the display state of the display image screen is set on the basis of the calculated adaptability.
However, although, in the first previously proposed vehicular display apparatus, the brightness level on the displayed image screen is adjusted in accordance with the vehicular (surrounding) environment, no consideration on a vehicular driver""s adaptability to the brightness of the image screen is given when, for example, the vehicle has entered the tunnel.
In addition, although, in the second previously proposed vehicular display apparatus, the brightness of the displayed image screen is adjusted only when the particular traffic information is displayed, no consideration on the vehicular driver""s adaptability to a dark environment at an earlier time is taken.
Furthermore, although, in the third previously proposed vehicular display apparatus, the brightness of the displayed image screen is adjusted, with the adaptability of the observer to be adapted to the vehicular surrounding environment taken into account, no description on an instantaneous adaptability of the vehicular driver to the dark environment is made.
In a case where the vehicle has entered the tunnel in a daytime of a fine weather, almost all of abilities of the sense of vision of the driver may be considered to be concentrated onto a vehicular drive. Suppose that if some information on the displayed image screen of the vehicular display apparatus is out of a field of view region in which the information can be read in a short time or if the information quantity is in excess of a quantity that can be read in a short time. In that case, it maybe considered that it is not easy for the vehicular driver to read the information on the displayed image screen
That is to say, suppose, for example, that a technique described in the third Japanese Patent Application Publication is applied to such a case when the display is extended at a position of the vehicle or to a dimension which is in excess of the field of view region within which the vehicular driver can read the information in a short time. This case would merely result in a useless stimulation of the sense of vision of the vehicular driver. In addition, an effect of the application of the technique disclosed in the third Japanese Patent Application Publication on a purpose for the vehicular driver to be adapted to a dark environment is lowered.
It is, hence, an object of the present invention, to provide display apparatus and method for an automotive vehicle which are capable of modifying the image screen display with an importance placed on the vehicular driver""s adaptability when a vehicular environment is changed.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus for an automotive vehicle, comprising: a display disposed on a position of the vehicle placed in a proximity to a dashboard surface of the vehicle; and a controller, in response to a detection of a state of the vehicle which satisfies a predetermined condition, to carry out a process to gradually reduce a brightness of an image screen of the display toward a predetermined direction which is more distant from a direction of a line of sight of a vehicular driver when the vehicular driver gazes a vehicular forward direction.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display method for an automotive vehicle, comprising: providing a display disposed on a position of the vehicle placed in a proximity to a dashboard surface of the vehicle; detecting a state of the vehicle which satisfies a predetermined condition; and gradually reducing a brightness of an image screen of the display toward a predetermined direction which is more distant from a direction of a line of sight of a vehicular driver when the vehicular driver gazes a vehicular forward direction.
This summary of the invention does not necessarily describe all necessary features so that the invention may also be a sub-combination of these described features.